6.  The Association is a non-profit-making non-governmental organisation (NGO), now dissolved, which was active between 1995 and 2002. The application was lodged by its former Chairman, Mr Sabir Israfilov, who was born in 1948 and lives in Baku.
7.  The Association was registered by the Ministry of Justice on 25 August 1995 and acquired the status of a legal entity.
8.  Clause 1.1 of the Association’s Charter defined it as an independent, charitable public organisation with voluntary membership, conducting its activities within the framework of the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan on public associations, other applicable laws and its own Charter.
9.  According to clause 1.2 of the Charter, the main objects of the Association were:
“... in the circumstances of the present-day environmental crisis, to develop the environmental culture and awareness of the various strata of the country’s population, to organise a public movement for a clean environment in Azerbaijan, to give impetus to the process of effective resolution of environmental protection problems, and to strive permanently to promote the measures necessary to create a healthier environment.”
10.  According to the Charter, the Association’s governing bodies consisted of the Congress (the general assembly of members), the Central Council (the management board elected by the general assembly for a five‑year term), the Central Supervisory Commission (a body of internal control elected by the general assembly for a five-year term), and various local bodies. Clause 4.8 of the Charter provided that the Congress, as the general assembly of members, was the Association’s supreme governing body and would convene once every five years.
11.  Since the date of its establishment and State registration, and until August 2002, the Association had not convened a general assembly of its members.
12.  It appears that, on 9 July 1997, about two years after the Association’s State registration, the Ministry of Justice sent a letter to the Association, noting that the latter had committed certain breaches of the domestic law and the Association’s own Charter. The exact content of that letter is not clear from the materials available in the case file.
13.  On 14 August 2002 the Ministry of Justice commenced an inspection of the Association’s activities.
14.  On 10 September 2002 the Ministry issued a warning to the Association in accordance with section 31.2 of the Law on non‑governmental organisations (public associations and foundations) of 13 June 2000), applicable at the material time (“the NGO Act”). The Ministry stated that the Association’s activities did not comply with the requirements of its own Charter and the domestic law. It was noted that a general assembly of the Association’s members had not been convened within the five-year period specified in its own Charter. Moreover, in any event, this provision of the Charter was itself incompatible with the domestic law, as section 25.2 of the NGO Act required that the supreme governing body of a public association – the general assembly of members – was to be convened at least once every year. The Ministry requested that, within ten days, the Association take measures to remedy the above-mentioned breach and inform the Ministry of the measures taken.
15.  In reply, Mr Israfilov informed the Ministry that, in fact, a general assembly of members had taken place on 26 August 2002. It appears that, among other things, the Association’s general assembly decided to establish a working group in order to bring the Association’s Charter into conformity with the current legislation.
16.  Having examined the documents relating to the general assembly meeting of 26 August 2002, on 3 October 2002 the Ministry of Justice issued a new warning to the Association (which constituted a second warning issued in 2002). It noted that the general assembly of 26 August 2002 had been convened in violation of numerous provisions of the domestic law. The Ministry noted, inter alia, that not all members of the Association had been properly informed about the general assembly and thus had been unable to participate in it, and that the Association’s local branches had not been equally represented at the assembly. Generally, the current membership records had not been properly kept and it was impossible to determine the exact number and identity of members. Local branches of the Association had not held any regular local assemblies of members and, in fact, functioned as regional offices directly governed by the head office in an administrative and hierarchical manner, whereas in a genuine public association ordinary members should be able to directly participate in its management. The Ministry again demanded that, within ten days, information be submitted as to the steps taken to remedy these breaches.
17.  It appears that the Association disagreed with the above findings in its correspondence with the Ministry and took no action in response to this second warning.
18.  Finally, on 28 October 2002 the Ministry issued a third warning, stating that it had not received any information from the Association as to compliance with the prior two warnings. In addition to reiterating the remarks contained in the prior warnings, the Ministry noted that the Association also engaged in an activity prohibited by law. Specifically, the domestic law (namely, the NGO Act, the Law on environmental protection of 8 June 1999 and the Law on entrepreneurial activity of 15 December 1992) prohibited public associations from interfering with the activities of private businesses. In this connection, the Ministry noted:
“However, contrary to these legal requirements, the Association ... attempts to collect money from State organs and commercial organisations in the guise of membership fees, regularly conducts [unlawful] inspections at economic enterprises and draws up [environmental compliance] reports, and engages in other illegal acts interfering with the rights of entrepreneurs ...”
19.  As it had done previously, the Ministry demanded that, within ten days, the Association submit information as to the steps taken to remedy the situation. The Association did not react.
20.  In December 2002 the Ministry lodged an action with the Yasamal District Court, seeking an order for dissolution of the Association. The Association, represented by Mr Israfilov, lodged a counterclaim, contending that the Ministry’s warnings had been unlawful and unsubstantiated.
21.  On 7 March 2003 the Yasamal District Court dismissed the Association’s counterclaim and granted the Ministry’s request, ordering the Association’s dissolution.
22.  Specifically, in respect of the Ministry’s request for dissolution, the court heard oral submissions by the Association’s members and the officials of the Ministry of Justice’s Department of State Registration of Legal Entities, reviewed the content of the Ministry’s three warning letters issued in 2002 and examined the correspondence between the Association and the Ministry. The court also examined six internal reports by various officials of the Ministry of Justice concerning the results of the inspection of the activities of the Association’s various local branches. According to these reports, most of the inspected branches had not held regular local assemblies of members and had not maintained proper records of members and membership fees. One of these reports stated that, according to “information obtained” during the inspection, the Association’s branch in the Tovuz region carried out illegal environmental inspections and engaged in other illegal activities.
23.  Based on the above materials, the court found that, despite the early warning issued on 9 July 1997 (the content of which was not specified in the judgment), the Association had continued to commit breaches of domestic law on an even more systematic basis, which had led to the issuance by the Ministry of Justice of the three warning letters in 2002. The court noted that the Association’s Charter had not been brought into compliance with the domestic law on public associations, which required that a general assembly of members be held no less than once a year. In any event, even the five-year period for convening a general assembly, as required by the Association’s Charter, had not been complied with. The court further found that the Ministry’s findings concerning numerous irregularities during the general assembly meeting of 26 August 2002, as well as breaches of law in the general functioning of the Association, constituted a basis on which to dissolve the Association for systematic failure to comply with the domestic law.
24.  Furthermore, again based on the above-mentioned oral testimonies of the Ministry officials and their inspection reports, the court noted that the Association had frequently overstepped the limits of the scope of its activities as defined in its Charter and permitted by law, by interfering with the competence of the relevant State authorities. In particular, it was noted that the Association’s local branches had attempted to carry out unlawful environmental inspections on the premises of various State and commercial enterprises and collect membership fees from them, issued reports on these enterprises’ compliance with environmental standards, and engaged in other actions interfering with the activities of commercial entities. The court found that, by engaging in such actions, the Association had violated the rights of other persons and attempted to misappropriate powers of a State regulating authority.
25.  The court further noted that, in accordance with the NGO Act, the issuance of three warnings by the Ministry of Justice constituted a basis for an association’s dissolution if the latter did not take any measures to remedy the shortcomings in its activities. The court therefore ordered that the Association be dissolved.
26.  The Association appealed, claiming that the provisions of the NGO Act were vague and imprecise, giving the Ministry a wide discretion to interfere with public associations’ activities and to issue warnings even for minor irregularities in their activities. The Association also argued that the Yasamal District Court’s factual findings concerning its activities had been incorrect and unsupported by any evidence.
27.  On 4 July 2003 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and upheld the Yasamal District Court’s judgment.
28.  By a final decision of 29 October 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ judgments.
29.  The Association’s State registration certificate was revoked and the Association was dissolved.